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Son of Flubber
| runtime = 100 minutes | country = United States | language = English | budget = | gross = $22.1 million[http://www.the-numbers.com/movies/1963/00252.php Box Office Information for Son of Flubber.] The Numbers. Retrieved September 5, 2013. }} Son of Flubber is the 1963 sequel to the Disney science fiction comedy movie The Absent-Minded Professor (1961). Both films star Fred MacMurray as a scientist who has perfected a high-bouncing substance, Flubber ("flying rubber") that can levitate an automobile and cause athletes to bounce into the sky. The film co-stars Nancy Olson and Keenan Wynn, and was directed by Robert Stevenson. Many of the cast members from The Absent-Minded Professor also appear in the film, including Elliott Reid and Tommy Kirk. The film was shot in black and white, but a colorized version was released on VHS in 1997. Plot Professor Ned Brainard's discovery of Flubber has not quite brought him or his college the riches he thought. The Pentagon has declared his discovery to be top secret and the IRS has slapped him with a huge tax bill, even if he has yet to receive a cent. He thinks he may have found the solution in the form of "Flubbergas," (the "son" of Flubber) which can change the weather. His wife Betsy becomes fed up with all the stress and starts separating from him, and the professor's old rival Shelby starts trying to woo her again. Brainard's experiments continue, by making it rain inside people's houses, as well as in Shelby's car too while he's driving, which causes him to get into an accident with a police car. It also helps Medfield College's football team to win a game, but it also has one unfortunate side effect: It shatters glass, which eventually places Brainard on the lam from Alonzo P. Hawk, who is planning to close Medfield College, and whose insurance company must pay the claims for the broken glass, traces the damage to Ned and threatens legal action (After Ned rejects his offer to become partners in a glass company scam, hoping to use the money to save Medfield College). At home, his wife Betsy is jealous of the attention lavished on him by an old high school girlfriend setup by Shelby to get his hands on Betsy, but she dumps him after Ned is arrested. On trial, Ned's future seems hopeless as he is faced with the damage lawsuit, and a Prosecutor asking Ned if he would return to his classroom. Until a farmer shows the court that his crops grew extra large because of Ned's experiment, which the farmer names "Dry Rain", and the professor is acquitted, and he and Betsy are reunited. Driving in their flying car, Betsy said she is crazy about science to Ned, and soon they share a kiss. In the last scene, the football-filled with flubber gas flies into outer space. Cast Production notes Plans to make a sequel to The Absent-Minded Professor were announced in November 1961.MacMurray Set in 'Professor' Sequel: Disney Film About King Arthur; Peter Finch and Wife Co-star Hopper, Hedda. Los Angeles Times (1923-Current File) Angeles, Calif 04 Nov 1961: B6. According to Walt Disney's daughter, her father (who abhorred sequels) made the film only because there were unused gags from The Absent-Minded Professor. The football game was filmed on a field constructed in a studio, with players suspended by wires.DISNEY IMPROVES ON FLYING TACKLE: Football Players Soar in the Air in 'Son of Flubber' By BOSLEY CROWTHER Special to The New York Times.. New York Times (1923-Current file) York, N.Y 05 May 1962: 18. Medfield College, which was also the setting for the earlier film The Absent-Minded Professor, was later used for a trilogy of Disney's "Dexter Riley" films: The Computer Wore Tennis Shoes (1969), Now You See Him, Now You Don't (1972), and The Strongest Man in the World (1975), each starring Kurt Russell and Cesar Romero. Reception Son of Flubber was a critical and commercial success. It grossed $22,129,412 at the box office, earning $7.1 million in theatrical rentals,"All-Time Top Grossers", Variety, 6 January 1965 p 39. Please note this figure is rentals accruing to distributors not total gross. making it the 7th highest-grossing film of 1963. The film currently holds an 86% "Fresh" rating on the review aggregate website Rotten Tomatoes.[http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/son_of_flubber/ Film reviews for Son of Flubber.] Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved September 5, 2013. See also *List of American films of 1963 References External links * * * * Category:1963 films Category:1960s comedy films Category:1960s science fiction films Category:1960s sequel films Category:Walt Disney Pictures films Category:American black-and-white films Category:American children's comedy films Category:American comedy science fiction films Category:American films Category:American sequel films Category:English-language films Category:Films directed by Robert Stevenson Category:Films produced by Walt Disney Category:Films produced by Bill Walsh (producer) Category:Medfield College films Category:Films scored by George Bruns